President Donald Trump is taking his pressure campaign to the next level against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and making it clear he doesn’t believe the strongman should be leading the country — all while China and Russia are speaking out on the escalating conflict involving their ally.

The Trump administration has launched a series of strikes targeting alleged drug boats off the coast of Latin America in recent months and announced this month a ‘complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela’ as his administration has significantly beefed up its naval assets in the region. 

While the Trump administration has said that these efforts align with the administration’s effort to curb the influx of drugs into the U.S., the campaign also appears geared toward removing Maduro from power. This isn’t the first attempt by Trump to squeeze out Maduro. He previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó during his first term. 

As a result, Trump said Monday that Washington’s pressure campaign against Venezuela would ‘probably’ be sufficient to coerce Maduro to step down and made it clear he believes that’s something Maduro should be doing.

‘That’s up to him, what he wants to do,’ Trump said Monday. ‘I think it would be smart for him to do that. But, again, we’re going to find out.’

The White House has historically refused to comment on whether it is pursuing regime change in Venezuela even though it does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state and insists he is the leader of a drug cartel. 

China and Russia are speaking out about U.S. actions in the region, accusing the U.S. of breaking international law after the U.S. seized multiple oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. The first seizure occurred Dec. 10, and Trump confirmed Monday that the U.S. is still pursuing another oil tanker that a U.S. official told Fox News Digital is a ‘sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion.’

‘The U.S. practice of arbitrarily seizing other countries’ vessels grossly violates international law,’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters Monday. Jian said Beijing opposes anything that ‘infringes upon other countries’ sovereignty and security, and all acts of unilateralism or bullying.’

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yván Gil spoke over the phone Monday, and the ‘Russian side reaffirmed its all-out support and solidarity with the leaders and people of Venezuela in the current context.’ 

‘The ministers expressed grave concern in connection with Washington stepping up its escalation actions in the Caribbean, actions fraught with far-reaching consequences for the region and creating a threat for international shipping,’ the statement said.

Katherine Thompson, a senior fellow in defense and foreign policy studies at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, previously told Fox News Digital that adversaries like Russia and China are likely perplexed as to why the Trump administration has zeroed in on the Maduro regime. That’s because Caracas doesn’t jeopardize U.S. interests as much as other actors, in addition to the Trump administration’s ‘American First’ mantra, Thompson said. 

‘I imagine, for them, it’s probably a bit puzzling if they’re looking at it through a real, brass tacks, realist lens why this administration would be prioritizing ousting the Maduro regime as opposed to conflicts in other theaters,’ Thompson said earlier in December. 

The Trump administration has conducted nearly 30 strikes in Latin American waters since September as part of its hard-line approach to crack down on the influx of drugs into the U.S. 

For example, the Trump administration designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa and others as foreign terrorist organizations and bolstered its naval assets in the region in recent months, including signing off on the unprecedented step of sending the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to the region.

In addition to the strikes against alleged drug vessels, Trump has suggested for months that strikes on land could be the next step.

‘We’re knocking out drug boats right now at a level that we haven’t seen,’ Trump said Dec. 3. ‘Very soon we’re going to start doing it on land too.’

Although the Trump administration has said it has the authority to conduct these attacks against alleged drug boats, Democrats and some Republicans have questioned the legality of the strikes.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and senators Tim Kaine, D-Va., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced a war powers resolution this month to bar Trump from using U.S. armed forces to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela.

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is expecting a baby girl, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Leavitt and her husband Nick are expecting their second bundle of joy to be born in May 2026. Their first son, Niko, was born in July 2024.

‘My husband and I are thrilled to grow our family and can’t wait to watch our son become a big brother,’ Leavitt told Fox News Digital. ‘My heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for the blessing of motherhood, which I truly believe is the closest thing to Heaven on Earth.’

Leavitt told Fox News Digital that she is ‘extremely grateful to President Trump and our amazing Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for their support, and for fostering a pro-family environment in the White House.’

‘Nearly all of my West Wing colleagues have babies and young children, so we all really support one another as we tackle raising our families while working for the greatest president ever,’ Leavitt said.

Leavitt added: ‘2026 is going to be an amazing year for the President and our country, and personally, I am beyond excited to become a girl mom.’ 

A senior White House official told Fox News Digital that Leavitt will remain in her post as press secretary.

Leavitt will be the first pregnant press secretary in U.S. history.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar blasted the Palestinian Authority (PA) for emboldening terrorism with its infamous ‘Pay-for-Slay’ program after a Palestinian on Friday murdered two Israelis.

Palestinian terrorists murdered 19-year-old Aviv Maor from Kibbutz Ein Harod and Mordechai Shimshon, 68, from Beit She’an on Friday in northern Israel.

The Palestinian Authority ‘Pay-for-Slay’ policy gained wide public attention when Taylor Force, a West Point graduate who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, was savagely knifed to death by a Palestinian terrorist on March 8, 2016, while on a tour of Israel. President Donald Trump signed the Taylor Force Act into law in October 2018, after a vigorous campaign by Force’s parents, Robbi and Stuart Force.

Prior to Friday’s terrorist attacks, Sa’ar issued warnings to the international community about alleged Palestinian leadership deception. He wrote on X: ‘Don’t believe Mahmoud Abbas’ lies. The Palestinian Authority’s payments to terrorists and their families haven’t stopped. The PA decided to continue its ‘Pay-for-Slay’ policy. This includes payments to the families of ‘martyrs’ and injured terrorists, jailed terrorists and released terrorists.  The PA is also disguising the payments to the released murderers as payments to pensioners of the Palestinian Security Services!   This is distorted.  End ‘Pay-for-Slay’ now!’

Abbas is the 90-year-old chain-smoking president of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank (the region is known in Israel by its biblical names of Judea and Samaria.)

Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told Fox News Digital that contrary to Palestinian Authority claims about stopping the ‘Pay-for-Slay’ program, there has been ‘no substantial change in Palestinian Authority policy with regard to the payments to terrorists.’

He continued that ‘They are making noises as if they are changing their policies.’ But he termed it a ‘façade’ with no change in policy.

Michael said that ‘Pay-for-Slay will continue in a different manner. Donors and the international community [who finance the PA] will find it more difficult to monitor it.’

The counter-terrorism expert, Michael, who is also a fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy, said the PA ‘defines terrorists as social welfare. They continue to support incitement against Israel. They continue remaining dysfunctional.’

According to a Dec. 19 report in the Times of Israel, a PA-linked organization –The Palestinian National Economic Empowerment Institution (also known as Tamkeen) — disputed the Israeli government claim that ‘Pay-for Slay’ is still intact.

Tamkeen noted in its statement that it ‘confirms that the payment system linked to the number of years of imprisonment has been completely and permanently abolished and is no longer in effect in any way.’ It added that ‘Claims regarding its continuation fall under the category of deliberate misinformation and falsification of facts.’

Fox News Digital reached out numerous times to the Palestinian Authority for a comment and sent press queries to the Palestinian National Economic Empowerment Institution (Tamkeen.)

When asked by Fox News Digital what donor nations can do to stop ‘Pay-for-Slay,’ Michael said, ‘Be strict when it comes to financial donations,’ adding there are ‘many ways to pressure the Palestinian Authority.’

He sharply criticized Western European leaders who recognized an independent Palestinian state in 2025 without ensuring that the state would be a non-sponsor of terrorism. ‘Western leaders, the British prime minister, the French president and the Spanish prime minister are rushing and running to recognize a Palestinian state, and they don’t care what takes place under the Palestinian Authority in the territories.’ He said their recognition is ‘an incentive to continue to ‘Pay for Slay.’’

Michael said the Trump administration is the only one ‘applying pressure on the Palestinian Authority.’

He stressed that if the U.S.-designated terrorist movement Hamas is not dismantled and disarmed in Gaza, ‘it will be another achievement of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.’

The U.S. State Department and American Embassy in Jerusalem did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital press queries.

Capitol Hill is a ghost town with both the House and Senate out of session until a few days into the new year.

Lawmakers left town the week before Christmas, and with their departure have left several key fights unresolved — with deadlines looming large for both Republicans and Democrats.

Government funding

Congress voted to end the longest-ever government shutdown in history last month after 43 days of gridlock.

But lawmakers did not strike a deal on federal funding for the rest of fiscal year (FY) 2026, which they’re expected to do annually. Instead, they passed a portion of FY 2026 funding while punting the deadline for the majority of areas to Jan. 30.

Senate Republicans had hoped to strike a deal on the vast majority of the remaining funds before leaving town, but various objections from senators on both sides of the aisle delayed an actual vote. 

Now, that legislation will have to be reckoned with in early January. During that month, the House and Senate will only have a total of eight days in session together before the Jan. 30 deadline.

The Senate will have 15 total days in session, while the House will have 12.

Healthcare

Millions of people across the country are expected to see an increase in how much they pay for healthcare premiums every month starting in January.

Congress, meanwhile, has failed to pass a compromise between the House and Senate to help Americans deal with the rising cost.

For some Americans on Obamacare, part of that is due to COVID-19 pandemic-era enhanced subsidies expiring at the end of 2025. 

Republicans have largely rejected the notion of extending those subsidies, at least without significant reforms. But a small group of moderate GOP lawmakers are pushing for a short-term extension to give Congress time to create a more permanent system for lowering costs.

The House passed a healthcare reform bill aimed at expanding options in the commercial insurance marketplace the week before leaving town. In the Senate, however, dueling plans by Republicans and Democrats failed to advance.

It will now be an issue for GOP congressional leaders to tackle in 2026 — while Democrats are likely to seize on it as an election-year issue.

Redistricting

Mid-decade redistricting has upended state and federal politics across the U.S. this year, with President Donald Trump pushing multiple GOP-controlled states to change their congressional lines in order to give Republicans an advantage in the 2026 midterms.

Democrat-led states like California have responded by moving to redraw their own maps to give the left an advantage. It’s resulted in prolonged court battles on both sides.

In Texas, where new maps could give Republicans as many as five new House seats, the Supreme Court granted an emergency stay on a lower court’s order allowing the GOP-led initiative to move forward.

The federal court battle over the Golden State’s new map is likely to draw into the new year. Meanwhile, states like Virginia, Illinois, Alabama, and Louisiana could still move to make new lines before next November.

Multiple House lawmakers have introduced legislation to ban mid-decade redistricting, but to no avail so far.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., warned at a press conference earlier this month, ‘Republicans may have started this redistricting battle. We as Democrats plan to finish it.’

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., by contrast, has taken a largely hands-off approach, preferring to leave the matter to state legislatures and the courts.

North Korea showed off its apparent progress in the development of a nuclear-powered submarine. State media released photos of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and his daughter, a potential heir, as they inspected what appears to be a largely completed hull.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea’s official state media, said Kim and his daughter visited the shipyard to examine the construction of what it describes as an 8,700-ton-class nuclear-propelled submarine, The Associated Press reported. Pyongyang has signaled that it plans to arm the submarine with nuclear weapons, the AP noted. Kim has said the development of the submarine is a crucial step toward the modernization and nuclear armament of his country’s navy.

The Christmas Day release of the photos marks the first time North Korean state media has shown an update on the nuclear-powered submarine since March. Earlier images mostly showed the lower sections of the vessel, the AP noted. The KCNA did not say when the photos released on Thursday were taken.

Moon Keun-sik, a submarine expert at Seoul’s Hanyang University, told the AP that the photos of a largely completed hull indicate that many of the core components are already in place, as submarines are typically built from the inside out. However, it was not immediately clear exactly how much progress Pyongyang had made.

‘Showing the entire vessel now seems to indicate that most of the equipment has already been installed and it is just about ready to be launched into the water,’ Moon, who also served as a submarine officer in the South Korean navy, told the AP. Moon added that North Korea’s submarine could be ready for testing at sea within months.

While at the shipyard, Kim condemned South Korea’s efforts to develop its own nuclear-powered submarine as an ‘offensive act,’ despite the fact that President Donald Trump has backed Seoul’s push toward the technology. Kim said South Korea’s efforts violate North Korea’s security and maritime sovereignty, according to the AP.

In October, during his tour of Asia aimed at securing investments, Trump said that the U.S. would share technology with South Korea that would allow it to build a nuclear-powered submarine. The president posted on Truth Social that the vessel would be built in Philadelphia.

‘South Korea will be building its nuclear-powered submarine in the Philadelphia shipyards, right here in the good ol’ U.S.A. Shipbuilding in our country will soon be making a BIG COMEBACK,’ the president wrote.

The White House underscored the point when it released a fact sheet in November which directly referenced Washington and Seoul’s efforts to ‘further our maritime and nuclear partnership.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center was canceled just days after the White House announced that President Donald Trump’s name would be added to the iconic performing arts institution in Washington, D.C.

The show’s host, musician Chuck Redd, who has led the holiday ‘Jazz Jams’ at the Kennedy Center since 2006, said he called off his performance after Trump’s name was added to the facility.

‘When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,’ Redd told the Associated Press.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Kennedy Center for comment. The Kennedy Center’s website lists the show as canceled.

The Kennedy Center’s board voted unanimously on Dec. 18 to rename the institution the ‘Trump-Kennedy Center,’ prompting swift backlash from members of the Kennedy family who said the decision undermined the legacy of President John F. Kennedy.

Maria Shriver, Kennedy’s niece, criticized the decision, calling it ‘beyond comprehension.’

Last week, workers added Trump’s name to the outside of the center, and the website’s header was changed to ‘The Trump Kennedy Center.’

Another Kennedy niece, Kerry Kennedy, vowed to remove Trump’s name from the building after he leaves office.

President Lyndon Johnson signed a bill in 1964 that designated the center as a living memorial to Kennedy following his assassination in 1963. The law prohibits the board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else or from putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior, the AP reported.

Trump was elected chairman of the Kennedy Center board in February, after removing 18 trustees appointed by former President Joe Biden.

Since Trump returned to office on Jan. 20, several artists have canceled performances at the Kennedy Center, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, who called off a production of ‘Hamilton.’

Redd has toured worldwide and performed with numerous musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, according to his website bio.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Redd for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A group of 19 Democrat-led states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over a declaration that aims to restrict gender transition treatment for minors.

The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; its secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; and its inspector general comes after the declaration issued last week described treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy and gender surgeries as unsafe and ineffective for children experiencing gender dysphoria.

The declaration also warned doctors they could be excluded from federal health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, if they provide these treatments to minors.

The move seeks to build on President Donald Trump’s executive order in January calling on HHS to protect children from ‘chemical and surgical mutilation.’

‘We are taking six decisive actions guided by gold standard science and the week one executive order from President Trump to protect children from chemical and surgical mutilation,’ Kennedy said during a press conference last week.

HHS has also proposed new rules designed to further block gender transition treatment for minors, although the lawsuit does not address the rules, which have yet to be finalized.

The states’ lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Eugene, Oregon, argues that the declaration is inaccurate and unlawful and urges the court to prevent it from being enforced.

‘Secretary Kennedy cannot unilaterally change medical standards by posting a document online, and no one should lose access to medically necessary health care because their federal government tried to interfere in decisions that belong in doctors’ offices,’ New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the lawsuit, said in a statement.

The lawsuit claims the declaration attempts to pressure providers into ending gender transition treatment for young people and circumvent legal requirements for policy changes. The complaint said federal law requires the public be given notice and an opportunity to comment before substantively amending health policy and that neither of these were done before the declaration was released.

The declaration based its conclusions on a peer-reviewed report that the department conducted earlier this year that called for more reliance on behavioral therapy rather than broad gender transition treatment for minors with gender dysphoria.

The report raised questions about standards for the treatment of transgender children issued by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and brought concerns that youths may be too young to give consent to life-changing treatments that could result in future infertility.

Major medical groups and physicians who treat transgender children have criticized the report as inaccurate.

HHS also announced last week two proposed federal rules — one to cut off federal Medicaid and Medicare funding from hospitals that offer gender transition treatment to children and another to block federal Medicaid money from being used for these procedures.

The proposals have not yet been made final and are not legally binding because they must go through a lengthy rulemaking process and public comment before they can be enforced.

Several major medical providers have already pulled back on gender transition treatment for youths since Trump returned to office, even those in Democrat-led states where the procedures are legal under state law.

Medicaid programs in just under half of states currently cover gender transition treatment. At least 27 states have adopted laws restricting or banning the treatment, and the Supreme Court’s decision this year upholding Tennessee’s ban likely means other state laws will remain in place.

Democrat attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, Washington state and Washington, D.C., as well as Pennsylvania’s Democrat governor, joined James in the lawsuit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Nasry Asfura has won the 2025 Honduras presidential election, delivering victory for the right-of-center National Party of Honduras (PNH) and shifting the political landscape of Central America. 

The 40.3% to 39.5% result in favor of Asfura over Liberal Party candidate Salvador Nasralla arrived after the vote-counting process had been delayed for days by technical glitches and claims by other candidates of vote-rigging. Rixi Moncada, the candidate of the ruling LIBRE party, came in a distant third.

The results of the race were so tight and the ballot processing system was so chaotic, that about 15% of the tally sheets, which accounted for hundreds of thousands of ballots, had to be counted by hand to determine the winner.

Two electoral council members and one deputy approved the results despite disputes over the razor-thin difference in the vote. A third council member, Marlon Ocha, was not in a video declaring the winner.

‘Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down,’ Asfura said on X after the results were confirmed.

The head of the Honduran Congress, though, rejected the results and described them as an ‘electoral coup.’

‘This is completely outside the law,’ Congress President Luis Redondo of the LIBRE party said on X. ‘It has no value.’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Asfura on X, saying the U.S. ‘looks forward to working with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our hemisphere.’

Initially, preliminary results on Monday showed Asfura, 67, had won 41% of the ballot, inching him ahead of Nasralla, 72, who had around 39%.

On Tuesday, the website set up to share vote tallies with the public experienced technical problems and crashed, according to The Associated Press.

With the candidates only having 515 votes between them, a virtual tie and site crash saw President Trump share a post on Truth Social.

‘Looks like Honduras is trying to change the results of their Presidential Election,’ he wrote. ‘If they do, there will be hell to pay!’

By Thursday, Asfura had 40.05%, about 8,000 votes ahead of Nasralla, who had 39.75%, according to Reuters, with the latter then calling for an investigation.

‘I publicly denounce that today, at 3:24 a.m., the screen went dark and an algorithm, similar to the one used in 2013, changed the data,’ Nasralla wrote on social media, adding 1,081,000 votes for his party were transferred to Asfura, while 1,073,000 votes for Asfura’s National Party were attributed to him.

Asfura, nicknamed ‘Tito,’ is a former mayor of Tegucigalpa and had entered the race with a reputation for leadership and focus on infrastructure, public order and efficiency.

His win ended a polarized campaign season, with one of the defining moments of the contest being Asfura’s endorsement by Trump.

‘If he [Asfura] doesn’t win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Nov. 28.

Before the start of voting Nov. 29, Trump also said he would pardon former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who once led the same party as Asfura. Hernandez is serving a 45-year sentence for helping drug traffickers.

In the end, the election saw the defeat of centrist former vice president of Honduras, Nasralla and left-wing Moncada, 60, who served under President Xiomara Castro. 

Moncada, a prominent lawyer, financier and former minister of national defense, focused on institutional reform and social equity.

Nasralla, a high-profile television personality turned politician, mobilized a base but fell short of converting his popularity into a winning coalition.  

He was focusing on cleaning up Honduran corruption. The Honduran presidential race was also impacted by accusations of fraud.

In addition to electing a new president, Hondurans voted for a new Congress and hundreds of local positions.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The Department of Justice said Wednesday it may have more than a million more documents related to the late Jeffrey Epstein that it needs to review and that the process could take weeks to complete.

The DOJ said two of its components, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, had just handed over the missing tranche of files, days after the Epstein Files Transparency Act deadline had passed.

‘We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible,’ the DOJ wrote in a statement on social media.

The ‘mass volume of material’ could ‘take a few more weeks’ to review, the DOJ said.

‘The Department will continue to fully comply with federal law and President Trump’s direction to release the files,’ the department wrote.

The DOJ has been sharing on a public website since Friday tens of thousands of pages of files related to Epstein’s and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking cases as part of its obligation under the transparency bill. 

President Donald Trump signed the bill into law Nov. 19, giving the DOJ 30 days to review and release all unclassified material related to the cases.

The file rollout has stirred controversy as critics have blasted the DOJ for what they say are excessive redactions and the law’s lapsed deadline Friday. Initially, the DOJ said it would miss the deadline by a couple of weeks, but Wednesday’s announcement signals that might extend further into the new year than the administration had anticipated.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on ‘Meet the Press’ Sunday there was ‘well-settled law’ that supported the DOJ missing the bill’s deadline because of a need to meet other legal requirements, like redacting victim-identifying information.

The transparency bill required the DOJ to withhold information about victims and material that could jeopardize open investigations or litigation. Officials could also leave out information ‘in the interest of national defense or foreign policy,’ the bill said. 

The bill also explicitly directed the DOJ to keep visible any details that could be damaging to high-profile and politically connected people.

It’s never a dull moment in Washington during the holiday season — featuring multiple holiday celebrations at the White House itself for lawmakers and Cabinet secretaries. 

The White House has hosted Christmas parties dating back to 1800 when then-President John Adams and then-first lady Abigail Adams hosted several government officials and their families to celebrate on behalf of their granddaughter, Susanna Boylston Adams, according to the White House Historical Association. 

Now, government officials make their rounds to celebrate the season — both in their official capacity serving the government and privately with their families.

For example, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent attended the White House Congressional Ball in December. First lady Melania Trump hosted the annual event at the White House for Republican and Democratic members of Congress.

President Donald Trump also indicated that other Cabinet members also attended, claiming that ‘we’ve got them all sort of here’ after singling out Rubio and Bessent. However, he refrained from identifying others because ‘they’re not names that are going to get huge applause from this very substantially Democrat audience.’ 

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also kicked off the first-ever Christmas worship service at the Pentagon, featuring American evangelist Franklin Graham, and musicians Anne Wilson and Matthew West. 

Additionally, Hegseth’s wife, Jen, hosted a Christmas Tea Party for Gold Star families at the Pentagon. A Gold Star Family is the family of a service member who died during active-duty military service.

Outside of official holiday events in Washington, the secretaries and their families enjoy their own holiday traditions as well. The White House shared a video Dec. 13 detailing how the secretaries and their families celebrate the holidays, with activities ranging from baking to holding a talent show. 

Jeanette Rubio, who is married to Secretary of State Rubio, said that their family attends midnight Mass together during Christmas. The couple shares four children together. 

‘We, as a family, we go to midnight Mass, that’s something that’s very important to us,’ Rubio said in the video. ‘We celebrate it together, because we want to keep what the purpose of Christmas is.’

Allison Lutnick, who is married to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, said that their favorite way to celebrate the holidays is lighting Hanukkah candles with their four children. 

‘My favorite holiday tradition is lighting Hanukkah candles with my children,’ Lutnick said in the video. ‘They’re approaching 30 now, so we don’t do chocolate dreidels or eight nights of gifts anymore though.’ 

Kathryn Burgum, the wife of Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, said that their family celebrates Christmas by making a Norwegian flatbread called lefse.

‘Our favorite holiday tradition is making lefse,’ Burgum said in the video. ‘And some people don’t have any idea what that is, but that’s actually a Norwegian flatbread that’s a tradition around the holidays.’ 

Cheryl Hines, who is married to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said that their family is large, which makes the holiday season extra fun. 

‘We like to have a talent show,’ Hines said in the video. ‘Not everybody is as talented as they wish they were, but that doesn’t stop us from singing at the top of our lungs or doing some crazy dance. We always have a really good time together.’

Lisa Collins, who is married to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, said their family enjoys decorating their Christmas tree with ornaments they’ve collected for nearly 40 years. 

‘Our favorite holiday tradition is collecting Christmas ornaments, everywhere we’ve been in 37 years,’ Collins said in the video. We ‘have a special tree for those places, and they’re all dated as a remembrance of where we’ve been, and how far we’ve come.’